Teachers and Schools Succeeding Against the Odds: An Exploratory Case Study

Abstract

This article examines how one low-decile New Zealand secondary school has managed to succeed against the odds. After examining Education Review Office and Ministry of Education responses to school failure, the paper looks at the influence of recent educational reform upon teaching, and at what the teachers in the case study school have done within their professional practice to create a culture of success. It argues that the teachers of the school have been professional in defending themselves against governmental attacks, and in their innovative approaches to a difficult teaching context. As a means of generating more understanding, the article finishes by exploring first of all the role of “teacher as hero” as portrayed in film, and secondly the relationship between schooling and cultural capital.